1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to small specialized tools, and more particularly to a key device which can remove locking members from drive chains or the like, and which can also replace an unfastened or detached locking member in locking engagement with the drive chain assembly.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Drive chains, that is, chains which transmit power from one rotating shaft to another, are widely used and have a variety of industrial and non-industrial applications. Most people recognize drive chains as being a continuous chain made up of rigid individual elements, or links, tied together in such a manner that adjacent elements can rotate with respect to one another about parallel axes and in a plane common to all of the elements. Thus, a chain is provided which is flexible in a common plane, but is substantially rigid with respect to any force component outside of that plane.
The links of a drive chain are joined together by link connectors, and by removing the link connectors the chain can be disassembled for repair or replacement of a damaged link. To provide this disassembly capability, releasable locking members in the form of elongated lock washers are used to hold the link connectors in a locked in position. To disconnect two adjacent chain links, the locking member must first be removed.
To applicant's knowledge, these locking members have heretofore been removed with a screwdriver by wedging the end of the screwdriver underneath the locking member, and prying it off of the chain links. This method has proven to be very awkward and time consuming since it is difficult to both hold the drive chain with one hand, and position the screwdriver with the other so as to wedge the screwdriver end underneath the locking member while obtaining suitable leverage to pry the locking member free. In fact, this procedure can often be very frustrating since it is a common experience to have the screwdriver painstakingly positioned such that the locking member is nearly released, only to have the screwdriver slip along the metal surfaces, and the locking member spring back into locking engagement in seeming defiance of any renewed attempts at prying it loose. To add to the frustration of these time consuming efforts, every time the screwdriver slips, any portion of the body which is close to the working area is in danger of receiving a cut or puncture wound.
The present invention overcomes the difficulties and hazards of using a screwdriver, or the links, to pry locking members off of the links of a drive chain by providing a key device which can easily and quickly remove a locking member by a simple twisting motion, and which with a similar twisting motion can also be used to easily and quickly replace the locking members back into its locked position. Using the present invention there is no danger of slipping and cutting one's hand, and also the present invention has the advantage of preventing excessive bending and twisting of the locking member by imparting just that amount of distortion to the locking member which will remove it from the chain link.